This book is to enlighten readers about investments, various institutions in modern finance, important financial instruments, and money itself. It tells how money has come about and how it is invested and about every factor associated with investments that influence all of us for good or ill. To readers who are curious about the mechanics of this financial world and mystified about inner workings of certain arcane financial transactions, a desire particularly sharpened by the recession, this book promises a good handle to demystify the whole alchemy.